Ugandan police have fired live bullets to disperse dozens of protesters angry at the arrest of opposition politicians in the capital, Kampala. MPs Beatrice Atim and Hussein Kyanjo were arrested for taking part in last week's protests against plans to allocate forest land to a sugar firm. Police spokesman Hassan Kasinje said they are being investigated for murder, incitement and terrorism. Three people died in the demonstrations that turned violent on Thursday. A suspected looter was shot by guards, a passer-by was hit by a stray bullet and an Asian man was stoned to death. Some of the protesters attacked members of the Asian community because the sugar company is owned by Ugandan Asians. Environmentalists say the move threatens the existence of rare species of trees and birds in the 30,000 hectare forest. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

North Korea may be preparing to shut down its main nuclear reactor, news reports said Tuesday, renewing hopes it will comply with a disarmament agreement days after missing a deadline to close the facility.Meanwhile, South Korea said it will discuss food aid to the North at economic cooperation talks between the Koreas — despite earlier reports that Seoul was considering halting the shipments in an apparent move to ratchet up pressure on the North, which has requested 400,000 tons of rice."The issue of food aid will be discussed" at meetings beginning Wednesday in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, Deputy Unification Minister Kim Jung-tae told reporters.South Korea has periodically sent rice and fertilizer to the impoverished North since an unprecedented 2000 summit spawned reconciliation between the Koreas, but often faces criticism from conservatives here and abroad for being too lenient on its northern neighbor...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-17-korea-nuclear_N.htm?csp=34

Authorities said Tuesday they have arrested an Egyptian engineer from the country's nuclear energy agency for spying for Israel.Prosecutor-General Abdul-Maguid Mahmoud announced that two foreigners, one Japanese and one Irish, were wanted in connection with the case but remained at large.Mahmoud identified the Egyptian engineer as Mohammed Gaber and said he was arrested Feb. 18 but that news of his detention was withheld pending the completion of the investigation. He said Gaber stole "important documents" from the Atomic Energy Agency and passed it on to agents of Israel's Mossad intelligence service.The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266502,00.html

A 13-year-old girl said Tuesday she used kicks and punches to fend off a sea lion that attacked her as she was riding a surfboard that was being towed by a boat.Ella Murphy was riding the surfboard off Lancelin, a town 80 miles north of the Western Australia state capital of Perth, when a sea lion leaped from the water, biting her face and neck on Friday.Murphy said she initially thought the brown shape streaking beneath the surface was a shark."I saw it jump out of the water and just saw its teeth come toward my face," she told Nine Network television from her hospital bed. "I just kind of thought: What's going to happen? What's next? Is it the end? ... I really didn't know," she said."It jumped out of the water and just grabbed hold of me and shook me and dragged me back under the water," she added....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266501,00.html

An index of consumer prices last month shot up by the largest amount in nearly a year, driven by big increases in the cost of gasoline and other energy products.The closely watched consumer price index rose 0.6% in March, the biggest increase since a similar rise in April of last year. Energy prices surged 5.9% last month, the largest one-month increase since September 2005, when Hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf Coast refineries.A 10.6% jump in gasoline prices last month eclipsed a 0.3% gain in February and was the largest increase since a 17.4% gain in September 2005.Outside energy, many prices moderated last month; food costs slowed after two months of big gains that had reflected crop damage in winter growing areas....http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-04-17-cpi_N.htm?csp=34

The mayor of the southwestern Japanese city of Nagasaki was shot outside a train station on Tuesday as he campaigned for local elections. He was in critical condition, police said.Mayor Iccho Ito was shot on a street near his office, just in front of Nagasaki train station, according to local police official Isao Teramoto.A man with links to organized crime was quickly detained, according to Kyodo News agency. NHK footage from Nagasaki showed several officers escorting a man into a police car, and an ambulance leaving the scene.It was the second shooting in recent years of a mayor of Nagasaki, which was destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945 and whose leaders have actively campaigned against militarism....http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/04/17/japan.mayor.ap/index.html?eref=rss_world